


And Then There Was One

by Oragami



Series: Drafts [3]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sentinels & Guides, Alternate Universe - Sentinels and Guides Are Known, M/M, Post Episode: s03e17 Sunday, Sad Ending, What Have I Done, may write another part thats happier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-21 20:23:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11951952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oragami/pseuds/Oragami
Summary: Rodney could feel it the moment it happened.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this was bouncing around in my head for several years, pretty much since I figured out Sentinel/Guide fics are my weakness. Also, half of it was wrotten while drunk, so the second half my reflect that.

Rodney could feel it the moment it happened. Not just because of the shudder of the floor beneath his feet. But the feeling that no Sentinel ever wants to feel- their Guide being ripped away from them.

He'd heard what it was like. To suddenly have half of yourself gone, with the knowledge that you wouldn't ever be getting it back. To go along with the physical pain, your senses started going haywire. That often sent a Sentinel into a zone, one that they didn't always come out of.

The second he felt Carson die, his knees hit the floor. He could hear people talking and moving around him, trying to figure out what the hell had happened. It took a little while for anyone to notice that Rodney was no longer standing.

"Carson..." Rodney could hear himself saying, hands gripping onto the fabric of his pants.

Zelenka was the first to notice that something was off- besides the obvious. He looked around for a fe moments before he sa Rodney on the floor, a blank expression on his face. He turned his attention from his laptop to his friend, hoping that he could figure out what was wrong.

"Rodney, what is wrong?" Zelenka asked as he knelt down in front of Rodney.

It took a minute for Rodney to realize that someone was speaking directly to him. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind enough to talk (and be understood).

"It's..." Rodney blinked his eyes, trying to focus his sight so he could make out who was talking to him. "Carson..." He said, voice barely above a whisper.

"Rodney could feel a hand landing on his shoulder, and everything seemed to clear up just a little but, but not by much. Whoever it was had to be a Guide, which meant it had to be Ronon, seeing as he was the only Guide in the room.

"What about Carson?" Zelenka asked, even though going by Rodney's reaction, he already knew what was going on.

"He's...I can't feel him anymore." Rodney's entire body shuddered. "He's dead, isn't he?"

Both Ronon and Zelenka looked up at Elizabeth, who nodded slowly. Apparently Rodney was right, not that there was any doubt.

Rodney reached up a hand, grabbing onto the edge of a table to haul himself to his feet, but his legs seemed too weak to keep him upright.

"You are in no condition to be going anywhere Rodney." Elizabeth said, prying Rodney's hand off the edge of the table. "Ronon, take him to one of the isolation rooms, and do your best to steer clear of the infirmary."

Atlantis had a few rooms set aside for Sentinels and Guides that needed to be isolated from the rest of the city for some reason, or when they were wanting to bond. Rodney and Carson had used one of them once everything had settled down after the Wraith had attacked and they'd gotten some contact back with Earth.

"Right.” Ronon took hold of Rodney's arm, pulling him to his feet. “Lets get you going McKay.” Ronon thought about the best route to take- the less people, the better.

They did happen to pass by some people, but thankfully not many. A few engineers likely going to see if the tower was in any danger of falling down, and a handful of others standing around talking about what they thought had happened. Rodney and Ronon didn't get any more than a passing glance before they turned back to their conversation.

When they both got to the isolation rooms, Ronon made sure to choose one that wasn't the same one that Carson and Rodney had used. He got the door open, walking Rodney over to the bed. Muted colors, sound and scent proof, designed to help keep the people using the room...well, isolated, and help any Sentinel in, or in danger of going into a zone.

Ronon got Rodney settled, kneeling by the side of the bed. “I know Doctor Weir would want to shove me out of a space gate if I didn't stay with you, so until youre doing better or someone comes to take my place, Im staying right here.”

Rodney rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face into the pillow. “He can't be gone.” Rodney's voice was muffled by the pillow. “I can't focus, can't think straight...”

Ronon put his hand back on Rodney's shoulder. “Come on McKay, listen to me alright? Try and focus on me.” Ronon had seen more than a few bonds broken by death, mostly at the hands of the Wraith, and it was never a pretty thing. Half the time it seemed like the Sentinel or Guide left behind would get themselves culled on purpose so they wouldn't have to live without their bond-mate.

Rodney didn't say anything, but he was doing his best to listen to Ronon. Without his senses being assulted by the goings on of the city, it was a little easier.

“I know this sounds stupid to you, but imagine all your senses as...” Ronon stopped for a minute, trying to think of the right word to say. “A dial, all the way to the top.” Maybe there was another way that a Guide would help out a Sentinel on Earth, but he would go with what he was taught on Sateda.

Rodney turned his head to face Ronon, a little bit of a look on his face, but still didn't say anything.

The next thing Rodney was aware of, he was in a darkened room, the white noise generators turned on. He could sense someone sitting next to him, but not exactly who it is.

“Where...Where am I?” His voice sounded off, like it hadn't been used in a while- and for longer than for the average person, seeing as Rodney talked a lot. He tried to sit up, but felt a hand pushing him back down.

“Hey, McKay.” The voice of the person next to him said, sounding like Ronon. “Not going to be a good idea for you to get out of bed for a while.”

Rodney moved his left hand to run it over his face, feeling the pull of a needle in the back of it. It took a few moments for his eyes to focus once he opened them, following the needle to what seemed to be an IV bag set up next to his bed. “What the hell is that?”

“I think Dr. Keller would be able to explain it better than I can. Just let me call her?” Ronon squeeezed his shoulder before tapping the radio on his ear. “Dr. Keller?...Yeah, he's awake...Figured you would be able to explain things better than me...” Ronon turned his attention back to Rodney. “She'll be here in a little while.”

“Last thing I remember....” Rodney closed his eyes. “He's...”

Ronon shook his head. “You can wait a few minutes until Dr. Keller gets here.”

Rodney groaned. He was never good at waiting for things to happen. Got him in trouble more than a few times.

The wait seemed to be agging on forever, until finally the doors to the room Rodney and Ronon were in slid open. “Good to see your awake Rodney.” Jennifer said as she entered the room.

Rodney picked up his head off the pillow to try and get a good look at her. “Now that you're here, can you please explain whats going on?”

Jennifer sighed, standing next to where Ronon was sitting. “What's the last thing you remember?”

“Something to do with the explosive tumors. Felt...Felt it when he died.” Rodney said quietly.

Jennifer nodded. “Ronon was getting you to one of the isolation rooms, since it seemed like you were headed to a zone. We're all honestly surprised that you actually woke up.”

“You've been out of it for damn near a month McKay.” Ronon said.

Rodney looked at Ronon. “A...A month? How?”

“What do you know about what happens when a bond is broken by death between a Sentinel and Guide?” Despite not being either, Jennifer had studied Sentinel and Guide medicine while in school, because she wanted to be able to help all people, just not average people.

Rodney didn't want to think about that. “Feels like...Half of you is gone, and your senses start going to shit. Almost all of the time you end up in a zone, and you don't always wake up.”

“Exactly So once 24 hours had passed and Ronon wasn't able to help you, we had to keep you hydrated, get some sort of nutrients in you. If you hadn't of woken up today you would have been sent back to Earth soon;”

“But I knew you would do it eventually McKay. You're stubborn, and nothing can keep you down for too long.”

“As it is, Im going to have to send you back to Earth to recover for a while. I just don't have the resources here in Atlantis to help you with that. Plus, with some big catastrophe happening here every other week it seems, its going to be safer for you there.”

Rodney tried to push down the feelings of loss and abandonment. He knew in the back of his mind that it was safer like Jennifer had said, but he didn't know very many people on earth, outside of Jeanie, her daughter and her husband. He hadn't talked to his dad in years, and his mom had died when he was a kid. He did have a cat waiting for him, but what were the odds his neighbor would give her back? Plus, he knew that if Carson was still around to say it, he would say that he knew Rodney could do it, even if he wasn't there.

 


	2. unfinished

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a sorta finished part 2/chapter 2 i have typed on my phone (so formatting may suck). Inhave it typed out in my computer too. Longer there and still have a bit i want to add

Several months after Sunday (a year?)  
\-------  
Rodney looked down at the picture in his hands. It was the one of him and Carson taken offworld- which planet specifically he'd forgotten- that had been beside their bed.

Its been almost a year since Carson had passed. The first few weeks were the worst. He would have nightmares every night, seeing Carson dying in the explosion (even though he knew he was in a completely different area of the city when it happened). He'd stayed with Jeannie for a few months, seeing one of the approved psychologist that specialized in helping Sentinels and Guides. It had taken him a while to really open up, and it seemed to help. 

Eventually his doctor cleared him and said that if he felt like he was ready, he could return to work at SGC, possibly Atlantis. He hadn't zoned since he'd been back, but he had come close a few times. Thankfully he had always been able to get away from what was causing it. He hadnt needed the help of a Guide more than once. They'd helped, but the fact that it wasnt Carson felt...wrong.

Rodney looked around the room he'd been living in since he'd been back on Earth. It was nice enough, even with Jeannie's spawn sometimes waking him up at ungodly hours. It just didnt feel like home. Home was on Atlantis, even with all the painful memories it had. In a way, most of his family was there too. He wasnt really sure if he was ready to admit it out loud just yet, but thats what he felt. 

All he had to do was tell the right people that he wanted to go back, make sure a few things were taken care of, and he could head back to Atlantis. And this time he wouldnt have to steal a puddle jumper to do it.

**Author's Note:**

> So yes, the end is really weird...but for some reason I couldn't think of what to write next.  
> Plus, the first time ever writing some Carson/Rodney fics. Figued there weren't that many out there I wanted to read...why not write them?


End file.
